946 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Dec. 



fectly secure. Possibly we may see our dream of 

 pajier reeeplucles im- holding- honey realized very 

 soon. Who will furnish some further information 

 in regard to those paper botties-that is, if such 

 thing's are aetuallj' now made tor the purpose set 

 forth? 



THE NEW EDITION OF THE ABC BOOK. 



The foUowing- is what Prof. Cook says, on receipt 

 of the new edition of the ABC of Bee Culture: 



Dear F/ieHiL— The A B C is here. Many thanks. 

 I wish to congratulate you. It is an excellent work, 

 and 1 f -ce with you in its splendid sale. Ithinkit 

 the cheapest book I know of anywhere. 



A. J. Cook. 



Ag-ricultural College, Mich., Nov. 19, 1888. 



Such words, coming from an author who likewise 

 has gotten out a bee-book, are thoroughly appre- 

 ciated. 



WHAT THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS ARE DOING. 



WHit^E we are now getting ready for the rigors of 

 winter, the Australian beekeepers are pi-eparing 

 for their honey season. From the last Australasian 

 Bee Journal (Oct. 1st) we learti that the season has 

 opened up unusually early. Swarming has already 

 commenced, and the prospects are bright. Who 

 knows but this is simply a forerunner of what we 

 may expect when our spring couies? Certainly 

 such a state of affairs will be very acceptable. Our 

 world is so large, that we sometimes think that the 

 whole of it is going into winter quarters. It is re- 

 freshing to hear the notes of spring, even though 

 from a far country. 



SPECIAL, WINTER-REPOSITORY VENTILATION NOT 

 NECESSARY. 



The subject for the October Review is Ventila- 

 tion; and Mr. Hutchinson, in an editorial summa- 

 rizing the views of the majority, says: 



No special arrangement is needed for the ventila- 

 tion of a bee-repository. * * * * Ventilation, 

 simply for the sake of securing fresher or purer 

 air, finds but little support; while the few who 

 plead for special ventilation do so almost entirely 

 upon the ground that they can thereby more readi- 

 ly control the temperature. Some who have been 

 to the expense of furnishing their cellars with sub- 

 earth and special ventilation have finally abandon- 

 ed it as not only useless but injurious. If bee-re- 

 positories are built sufficiently underground it does 

 not seem that ventilation would be very much 

 needed for controlling the temperature. 



MR. TnOM.ASWM. COWAN'S REVIEW OF PROP. COOK'S 

 BEE-KEEPER'S fiUIDE. 



Oi'R esteemed co-editor of the British Bee Journal 

 has reviewed Prof. Cook's book quite at length, and 

 a very nice notice he gives it too. He considers 

 more particularly the scientific portion of the work. 

 It must be indeed gratifying to the professor to 

 hear his book so favorably reviewed by such a sci- 

 entist and skilled microscopist of another country. 

 We dare say there'are but few who are Mr. Cowan's 

 equal in this or any other country, as a microsco- 

 pist. In most matters pertaining to the anatomy of 

 the bee, the reviewer agrees with the author, and 

 even goes so far as to set aside the opinion of a mi- 

 croscopist and scientist of his own country, when 

 the statements of the latter oppose those of Prof. 

 Cook. Mr. Cowan remarks truly, that our Michi- 

 gan friend has been especially careful to give due 

 credit for his information, and, almost with the 

 same breath, laments that Mr. Cheshire, the author 

 of " Bees and Bee-Keeping" (who so severely crit- 

 icised Prof. Cook), has not been so careful. Perhaps 

 we should say we have received intimations of this 

 before from other sources, and we are pained in- 



deed to learn that such a beautiful work as Mr. 

 Cheshire's— one which for typographical appear- 

 ance and finish of engravings is simply superb, and 

 which certainly does contain much that is original 

 and valuable— is marred in the manner stated. Per- 

 haps a satisfactory explanation can be made— at 

 least, we hope so. 



THE FOUL-BROOD BILL IN AUSTRALIA. 



In consequence of the general prevalence of foul 

 brood in Australian apiaries, and the indisposition 

 on the part of the apiarists to tal-:e active measures 

 to stay the progress of this dreaded disease, a few 

 of the more progressive bee-keepers have been 

 working to secure the passage of a " Foul-Brood 

 Bill"— a measure which would compel by law the 

 proprietors of affected apiaries to either destroy 

 affected colonies outright, or to take some steps 

 toward curing the disease. We learn from the 

 Australasiari Bee Journal for Oct. 1st that the bill 

 failed to pass in the late session of the House, but 

 not because of the lack of proper support. There 

 is, however, reasonable prospect that it will pass 

 at the next session. It seems strange to us of 

 America that legislation should be necessary to 

 make the non - progressive bee - keepers do what 

 is not only to the interest of themselves but to the 

 interest of every lover of the honey-bee of that 

 country. Unless the Australian bee-papers can do 

 something to stay the ravages of foul brood in their 

 midst, either by legislation or otherwise, bee-keep- 

 ing will make but little headway, to say the least. 

 We sympathize with our foreign bi-ethren of the 

 craft in their efforts, and wish them success. 



AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY. 



This is the title of a text-book from the pen of 

 Prof. J. Henry Comstock, of Cornell l^niversity. 

 The part now published includes only the first half 

 of the systematic part. It is prepared for the use 

 of students in agricultural colleges, for private use, 

 or for any one who desires to learn something 

 about common insects. Special pains has been 

 taken to describe those species that are of interest 

 to farmers, and, if injurious, what remedies may be 

 applied to exterminate them. The work is prepai'- 

 ed somewhat on the plan of our school botanies; 

 that is, it contains analytical keys, so that the read- 

 er may be enabled to find out to what family an in- 

 sect belongs. The indications of the pronunciation 

 of scientific names are made here and there through 

 the book. The typography of the work is simply 

 superb. In fact, it could not be otherwise, since it 

 is printed by the Devinne Press, New York, the 

 firm that prints the Century and Saint Nicholas 

 Magazine. 



Quite a remarkable feature of the work is, that 

 the engravings are not only largely original, but 

 have been executed by Mrs. Comstock, under the 

 special supervision of her husband. They are 

 made on wood, and we dare say that they are equal 

 in finish to the engravings that ordinarily appear in 

 the Cmtury. Of course, it necessarily follows that 

 they must be true to life. It is seldom, we think, 

 that an entomologist has the double advantage of 

 not only having a helpmeet, but a first-class wood- 

 engraver. We feel quite sure that this work will 

 take, and that farmers who are interested at all in 

 learning about some of the insects connected with 

 their pursuit will find it quite an acquisition to 

 their library. The price is *3.00, and can be ob- 

 tained of the author. 



